SafeNet Rolls Out Authentication Service For Enterprise, Security Providers

SafeNet, Inc. is providing a new cloud-based multifactor authentication service aimed at the enterprise market as well as service providers specializing in security-related offerings.

"We are turning your smartphone into a token device and doing so in a way that streamlines the process and makes it easy to work with," said Tsion Gonen, chief marketing officer at SafeNet. "We don't install management software on your computer. It is all cloud-based."

End-customer accounts can be managed through a vendor-agnostic, multitenant platform that interfaces with legacy, token-based security technology, enabling a quick migration to a cloud environment.

"When you add this offering to your service mix, you receive access to an administrator portal," Gonen said. "At that point, you can bring customers onto that portal at the organizational level, ... providing the IP address of the customer's Active Directory. At that point, the customer can begin provisioning their own people. In many cases, users will be connecting through a VPN. So, they would log into the VPN, but she would also get a one-time password through a soft token application downloaded onto their smart phone.

The service can be offered under either the SafeNet brand or through white labeling by channel partners and SPs.

In essence, [partners] get a slice of the system," Gonen said. "They can add their logo and engage the go-to-market strategy that they prefer. They can also retain their own channel partners to resell."

The Baltimore-based company believes that the service will reduce the overhead associated with multifactor authentication through the automation of common tasks such as provisioning, administration, billing and management of users and tokens. Other features support billing, reporting, auditing and policy alerts, which are all integrated with LDAP/Active Directory.

The system is highly scalable and is currently up and running.

"This could be a solid option for banks," Gonen added. "They can be their own service provider, or rely on someone else."